shanghai

Completing the Inspection
During the next two days, we did our sightseeing and shopping, anxious to see what was happening on the boat, but knowing that more would get done if we weren�t in the way. Craig and Chip returned to the yard on Friday, to complete the inspection. We were leaving on Saturday, so this was it. The cabin sole, and all the doors and floor hatches had been installed, and the fixes for problems Chip had identified on the first visit had been completed. Amazing progress continued to be made while the inspection was in progress. In one case Chip identified a valve that couldn�t easily be reached. He suggested a hatch be cut into the floor of the settee storage locker. When we made our final visit Saturday morning before our departure, the hatch was made. Craig commented that it needed a finger hole. We looked again a half an hour later, and it had a nicely finished finger hole.

Sightseeing and shopping in Shanghai
     Shanghai is a very westernized city, but with few westerners on the streets. (Perhaps they all come in the summer, not November, when we were there). Someone told us that fully one half of the construction cranes in the world are located in Shanghai. High rise hotels, office buildings and apartments are being built wherever you look. Parks do not seem to be part of the picture, with a couple of notable exceptions.
      We stayed in the Jian Gong Jin Jiang Hotel � a very nice high rise, but little English spoken � all for $45 a night. The hotel gives out cards with directions and maps in Chinese. The non-Chinese speaking visitor gives one of these cards to a taxi driver in order to get back to the hotel. Despite the best phrase books, all our attempts to pronounce Chinese phrases met with puzzled looks and friendly laughter. We ate at a very nice seafood restaurant in the hotel (seafood is big in Shanghai). The menu is translated into English but sometimes the English translations don�t sound very appetizing. Examples include �Fried fat frog soup� and �congealed fish.� We found our best success when we looked at what other diners were eating, and pointed. Prices were quite reasonable. Four of us had dinner each night for between $5 and $30 total.
      Our sightseeing included the Shanghai Museum � a modern, high tech museum with beautiful displays of artwork and archaeological finds. The calligraphy cases are dimly lit (to protect the manuscripts) until you approach closely, and then a brighter light comes on. The museum has an attached shop with excellent reproductions and original examples of folk art. We also visited the YuYuan Garden, a classical Chinese garden with koi ponds, and walls and roofs topped with large metal dragons and armed warriors. Adjacent to the YuYuan Garden is the Old Town shopping area, with small shops selling chopsticks, pearls, clothing, antiques, artwork, kites, and too many other things to list.

Most shopkeepers are anxious to bargain. They try to catch your attention, �Hello? Hello? You like?� If you express any interest at all, they key a price into a calculator. You offer your price by clearing their amount, and keying a lower amount into the calculator. A few times back and forth, and you�ve bought something for perhaps 50% of what they were originally asking. Other stores including the gigantic Friendship Store are government owned, and no bargaining is allowed. The clerks in the government stores have little interest in helping customers, but the array of goods is vast, and quality is generally high.

At one government musical instrument shop in the Yu Yuan Garden area, Craig purchased a 28 inch gong for about 1/3 of what it would cost at home. Getting the gong home was a puzzle. It was too big and heavy for the overhead bin in the airplane, and would likely be damaged in checked luggage. The puzzle was finally solved by asking the boat yard to build a wooden packing box. What they built was sturdy but elegant, and we�re now contemplating turning it into a table. The gong arrived home successfully and Craig used it in a concert the next week.